Method for treating the human finger and toe nails



' 23, 1934- s. P. Rosizms 1,978,144

IETHOD FOR TREATING THE HUMAN FINGER AND TOE NAILS Fi1ed Aug. 22, 1933 INVENTOR $441.) 73 Yns Hansen;

Patented Oct. 23, 1934 METHOD FOR TREATING THE HUMAN FINGER AND TOE NAILS Sally Payne Roberts, New York, N. Y., assignor of UNITED STATES one-third to P N. Y.

. Frank Sonnek, Woodhaven,

Application August 22, 1933, Serial No. 686,193

Claims.

This invention relates generally to so-called beauty appliances or accessories and is more particularly directed to a method and means of improving the appearance of the human hand by 5 providing a surface at the base of thefingernail, of a color contrasting to that of the remainder of the nail and in simulation of the natural .moon, as the latter occurs in the perfect nail formation.

1 In many instances, as is well known, the finger nail moon is not evident, due to the physical characteristis of the nail itself, or because of neglect in controlling the overlying growth of cuticle. Again, in other cases, it is poorly or dimly defined or irregular in outline. With the present day trend to beautification of the hands and the treatment of the fin er nails, as with various color-imparting solutions, the relation of the moon in the nail formation has become increasingly important and it is recognized that theabsence of the moon or the presence of a 'moon that is irregular, definitely detracts from the appearance of the hand and offsets to an appreciable degree'other attributes thereof which are considered as requisite to that ultimate perfection to which eve'ryxwoman now aspires.

In so far as is known, no attempt has been made, heretofore-to overcome the absence or the deficiency of a natural moon formation, ,its abfrequently ugly-appearing moon having been accepted as an insurmountable obstacle in the dressing or treatment of the hand for its beautification.

Therefore, the primary object of this invention is to provide a method and means whereby every hand may be adorned or beautifled in simulation of the perfect natural hand, with finger nail moons having characteristics as to shape or outline and color, which render them indistinguishable from those that are possessed by the true and naturally formed moons.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a simple and economical means for simulating the natural moon of the human finger nail and a practical and efllci'ent method of applying it to the finger nail, so as to render it, to all appearances, an integral part of the nail. the mode-of application being such that the artificial moon will not separate from the nail or become displaced thereon, except in response to the action of predetermined removing solvents or solutions, thereby assuring the user or my means and method of complete security in the immersion 55 and use of the hands in water or with such other sence, or the presence of a poorly formed and.

liquids as they may contact in the customary household and similar tasks.

A further object of my invention is to provide an artificial finger nail moon that may be readily produced from any appropriate flexible material 00 now commercially available and afllxed to the nail with more or less permanency, by a cooperating adhesive or cementitious material, with which it may be coated or impregnated'prior to, or following, its positioning upon the nail in as- 66 sociation with the base-defining cuticle of the latter.

Another important object of my invention is the provision of a simple and readily performed method of applying my artificial finger nail 70 moon, whereby the advantages fiowing from the use of my artificial moon may be attained without resorting to the aid of the professional beautician or manicurist, thus materially increasing the scope of usefulness of my invention.

Other objects and advantages flowing from the practicing of my invention will doubtless become evident as the description proceeds, and I would have it clearly understood that I reserve unto myself all rights to the full range of equivalents, both structurally and in use, to which I may be entitled under my invention in its broadest aspect.

For the purposes of this disclosure, 1 have elected to illustrate and describe a particular 35 embodiment of my invention and a preferred method of its application to the finger nail. However, this is merely illustrative and is not to be construed in any sense as limiting the scope of my invention beyond the purview of the ap- 9o pended claims. 7

' In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a human hand showing the finger nails as they appear with moons produced and applied thereto in ac- 5 cordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged central sectional view of aportion of the second finger of the hand shown in the preceding figure.

Figure 3 is a plan view of an artificial moon 10o produced from fabric.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the moon shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a moon constituted of a pulp material, as paper, and

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of the device illustrated in the preceding figure.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, in which like characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts in the several views, 110

the moon 7 may be produced from paper, fabric or any other suitable material, preferably of a wafer-like thinness, in the requisite contour or outline, the portion of regular curvature, as indicated at 8, being designed to be located toward the tip of the nail, while the base-line 9, which is somewhat flattened, as will be noted, is pressed or located beneath the cuticle of the finger surrounding the base of the nail, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The paper or fabric moon 7 may be tinted or colored to simulate the color of the natural moon during the process of manufacture and, likewise, if desired, it may be coated with an adhesive on one surface, as indicated at 10, in Figure 4 which will have an afiinity for the surface of the nail upon which it is superposed, the adhesive, of course, being of a character that will be soluble in response to the action of a prescribed moonremoving or nail treating liquid. It will be understood that this pre-coloring and pre-coatin'g of the moon with an adhesive is not essential to the practical use of my invention, although, in some cases, it may be found desirable, by the manufacturer, to resort to pre-coloring or precoating, or both. Obviously, certain trends to hand adornment or changes in the dressing of the nail which may come about with my artificial moon available, may make pre-treatment of the moon, in one way or another, necessary or desirable.

In the use of my invention, the appropriately formed artificial moon, which may be free of any preliminary coating of coloring or adhering material, is set or placed upon the nail which has been previously coated or treated with any of the conventional clear liquid nail polishing agents. The locating of the moon may be accomplished with the fingers or with any other instrumentality, as small tweezers, or a specially designed device, the base portion thereof, 9, being forced or lightly pressed beneath the cuticle defining the base of the nail with the major portion of the moon overlying the exposed surface of the nail so as to conceal the absence 'of and take the place of the natural moon, or to cover a moon of an irregular shape or formation, the moon being so dimens'oned that the leading edge 8 thereof, will virtually merge into the upwardly curving portions of the adjacent cuticle.

When the artificial moon has been properly located, it is pressed into close association with the nail surface, the liquid polishing agent functioning to cement the material of which the moon is constituted to the nail, throughout its area. The entire nail, including the moon, as applied, may now be coated or painted with the usual coloring liquid, which forms an overlying protective film for the moon and which effectively covers its lines-of jointure with the nail surface so as to produce a union of the moon material and the nail that will be completely impervious to moisture. Likewise, the moon material is protected by the film of coloring" disposed thereupon, the moon virtually becoming an integral part of the nail. -Manifestly, since the nail coloring is waterproof and it completely embraces the artificial moon, the use of the hands in and about water will not in anyway impair the appearance of the moon or its jointure with the nail. As will be evident, when the coloring is applied to the nail and the attached moon, the transparency or semi-transparency of the coloring agent, depending upon the color being used, will produce the desired contrasting effect between the moon and the major portion of the nail, the moon, as applied, being of a lighter hue or color than the natural color of the nail. This will be true, whether the moon is pre-colored, as heretofore described, or applied without previous coloring treatment.

Where the moon is pre-coated with an adhesive, as previously pointed out, it may be moistened preliminary to its application to the nail surface or adhesion between the coated moon and the nail may result from the disposition of the moon upon nail to which the clear polishing liquid has been applied. If it is afiixed to the nail, prior to the use of the polish, the latter, then, need only be applied to the portion of the nail beyond the periphery of the moon, effecting an economy in the use of the polish. In either event, following the placement of the moon upon the nail, the latter and the moon are simultaneously covered by a film of coloring material, in the manner heretofore explained.

For removing the moon, a specially prepared solution may be utilized, particularly where the moon is treated with an adhesive substance prior to its application to the nail, or the removal may be accomplished by saturating the nail and the attached moon with a solvent of the nail "coloring and nail polish, as, for example, any of the commercial so-called nail polish removers.

It will be manifest that, if desired, the artificial moon may embody or be embellished with decorative designs or figures, in relief or intaglio for creating new hand styles and may be colored otherwise than by the application of the nail "coloring" thereto following its disposition upon the nail, in shades and tints darker than the major part of the nail as well as in lighter hues. All of these methods of the use of my invention are contemplated within its broad objective which is the provision of a means and method of simulating the natural moon upon the finger nail which will be susceptible of various forms of color and decorative treatment that might be applied to the natural moon, as it is present in the recognized perfect nail formation.

While, in the description of my artificial moon and its mode of use, I have treated it as applied to the human finger nail, the employment of my invention for the beautification or adornment of the human toe nail is also contemplated, the constitution of the nails of the two forms of digits being similar and, therefore, it will be understood that wherever reference is made to the "finger nail in this disclosure, such term shall be broadly construed as defining the nail of the finger and the toe.

I claim:

1. A method of producing an artificial moon upon the human finger nail, which consists in affixing to the finger nail an element of flexible material corresponding substantially to the outline of the natural moon, and then applying to said element and to the finger nail a liquid agent and permitting said agent to harden to form a protective film overlying the nail and said element.

2. A method of producing an artificial moon upon the human finger nail, which consists in affixing to the finger nail an element of flexible material corresponding substantially to the outline of the natural moon, then applying to said element and the finger nail a protective coating of a material adapted to harden and render said element impervious to moisture and then permitting said coating to harden.

3. A method of simulating the natural moon formation upon the human finger nail, which consists in applying a nail polish to the nail, then affixing to the nail in association with the base thereof an artificial moon formed of flexible material while said nail polish remains solvent, permitting the polish to harden, then applying to the nail and to said flexible material a coating of liquid nail coloring material and permitting said coloring material to harden to form a protective film overlying the nail and said artificial moon.

4. A method of simulating the natural moon formation upon the human finger nail, which consists in applying a liquid having adhesive characteristics to the finger nail in the region of the base thereof, then affixing to the nail in association with the nail base-defining cuticle of the finger an appropriately shaped artificial moon of a fibrous material while said liquid is in a solvent condition, permitting the liquid to harden to cause said fibrous material to adhere to the nail surface, then applying coloring to the nail and to the fibrous material in a liquid state and permitting said liquid to solidify to form a protective film overlying said material and finger nail.

5. The method of producing-an-artificial moon upon the human finger nail, which consists in affixing to the finger nail an element of flexible material coated with an adhesive and corresponding in outline substantially to that of the natural moon, and then applying to said element and to the finger nail a liquid agent and permitting said agent to harden to form a protective film overlying said nail and said element.

SALLY PAYNE ROBERTS. 

